No. 6 Huskies travel to face No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota State-Mankato

Friday, October 14

St. Paul, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

Concordia-St. Paul

Photo by: Kaitlyn Zuehl

No. 6 Huskies travel to face No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota State-Mankato

10/13/2022 5:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Match Notes

St. Cloud State prepares for pair of critical road matches against Golden Bears and Mavericks

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 6 St. Cloud State Volleyball hits the road this weekend for matches at No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State-Mankato. Friday's match at the Gangelhoff Center is set for a 6:00 p.m. CT start with a 2:00 p.m. CT first serve on Saturday at the Taylor Center.

Broadcast Information
Both matches will be broadcast on the NSIC Network and the KVSC Sports Stream with Live Stats provided by the host institutions. Fans can find links to each match on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.

Last Time Out
St. Cloud State received vintage performances from captains Linsey Rachel and Phebie Rossi in a four-set win over Winona State on Saturday afternoon. Rachel double-doubled by putting down a season-high 19 kills along with 12 digs, adding a season-best four blocks while hitting .333. Rossi posted nine blocks for the third straight match to go with 13 kills and a career-high four aces. The Huskies racked up 15.0 total blocks for the second straight night as Sam Zimmerman added six, Makena Hollman recorded four and Emma Berran posted three along with the combined 13 from Rossi and Rachel. Kenzie Foley double-doubled with 10 kills and 13 digs, sharing the SCSU dig lead with Keely Kurschner.

Huskies Primer
SCSU moved up one spot to No. 6 in this week's AVCA Top-25 poll, remaining in the Top-10 for the eighth straight week. The Huskies have gone 4-3 over their last seven matches after starting the season a program-best 12-0, dropping matches to top-10 foes Wayne State, SMSU and Minnesota Duluth. Offensive efficiency has been a focal point for the Huskies, as they've hit .270 or lower in each of their last seven after hitting .323 through their first 12. St. Cloud State's block has taken a big step forward to accommodate for the offensive struggles, posting double-digit block totals in five of their last six with 15 in each of their last two.

Scouting No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul
Perennial national power Concordia-St. Paul has taken just two losses this season, both to No. 1 Wayne State. The Golden Bears lead the country in kills/set (15.27) and hitting percentage (.302), leaning on a terminal offense headlined by star outside Jasmine Mulvihill (4.55 K/S, .300, 2.39 D/S). Right side Sophia Andersen (3.04 K/S, .270), and outside Emma Schmidt (2.89 K/S, .259, 3.36 D/S) anchor the pins alongside Mulvihill while middles Kennedy Brady (2.42 K/S, .371, 0.85 B/S) and Katie Mattson (2.14 K/S, .345, 0.90 B/S) form a formidable duo. Teagan Starkey (13.18 A/S) directs the CSP offense while Ellie Sieling (3.33 D/S) serves as a key piece of the Golden Bear defense.

Scouting Minnesota State-Mankato
The Mavericks enter the weekend having won four of their past five matches, owning a 6-13 overall record with a 5-6 mark in conference play. Toryn Richards (2.31 K/S, .155) and Sophie Tietz (2.28 K/S, .216) are the top two hitters for setters Brooke Bolwerk (6.60 A/S) and Makayla Snow (4.89 A/S). Ellie Kline (3.21 D/S) and Brenna Hesse (3.02 D/S) anchor a defense posting north of 15.5 digs/set this season in support of a block led by Kiya Durant (1.09 B/S).

Leading the Pack
Huskies can be found all over the NSIC leaderboards entering week eight. Phebie Rossi leads the NSIC in blocks/set (1.36), is third in hitting percentage (.372), sixth in points/set (4.13) and 11^th in kills/set (3.19). Kenzie Foley is second in the conference in points (4.77) and kills per set (4.06) while ranking 17^th in hitting percentage (.274). Emma Berran is third in the league in assists per set (11.12). Linsey Rachel lands ninth in kills/set (3.25), 15^th in points/set (3.62) and 16^th in hitting percentage (.278) while slotting in 18^th in digs/set (3.11). Keely Kurschner is third in the NSIC in aces/set (0.43) and ranks ninth in digs/set (3.78). Sam Zimmerman rounds out the Huskies' NSIC leaders with 0.95 blocks/set, good for eighth in the league.

Rachel's Record Watch
Graduate student outside hitter Linsey Rachel enters the weekend ranked third on the Huskies' all-time kills list with 1449 and fourth in digs with 1388. She is 46 kills away from passing Kathy Davis (88') for second all-time in program history. Rachel is the program's only two-time All-American honoree and is within striking distance of becoming the Huskies' first member of the 1500x1500 club (kills and digs).

Rossi Reigns
Senior middle blocker Phebie Rossi was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week after a dominant week anchoring the Huskies' block. Rossi led the NSIC in total blocks (27.0), points (66.0), blocks/set (2.08) and points/set (5.08) last week as SCSU went 2-1 at Halenbeck Hall. Her staggering 2.08 blocks/set paced the league by over a half-block while she was the only player in the Northern Sun to average 5.0 or more points a set. The Rapid City, S.D. native also ranked eighth across the league with 3.54 kills/set on .369 hitting while anchoring a defense that led the NSIC with 3.08 blocks/set.

Taking Over
Phebie Rossi has been simply dominant over her last four matches as the Huskies have leaned on her for offense, providing 5.44 points/set and 4.06 kills/set on .397 hitting. She has added 31 total blocks in that span, delivering 1.72 a set.

An Immovable Object Meets an Unstoppable Force
Something will have to give in Friday's match as the Huskies' defense meets the Golden Bear offense. SCSU has yet to allow an opponent to hit better than .281 and has seen a foe hit above .198 just twice this season while posting double-digit blocks in five of their last six matches. Concordia-St. Paul has been on a tear of late, hitting .380 over their last nine matches with 15.44 kills per set – over their past five, the CSP hitting percentage jumps to a ridiculous .438. Blocking will be key: CSP has not seen an opponent record more than five total blocks over their last nine matches and have had just one foe record double-digit blocks.

Dynamic Defense
The Huskies own the second-best defense in the Northern Sun entering the weekend, holding opponents to a .149 hitting percentage and have allowed the second-lowest kills/set mark at 10.58. SCSU has allowed the fewest kills in the league at 688 and are third in blocks/set with 2.35. Only two Huskies opponents have hit .200 or better in a match this fall.

Information regarding single game and season tickets can be found at scsutickets.com. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.